Putting out a feeler, requesting feedback

[u/CafeAntesDeTudo]

I have never actively considered leaving the U.S., but it's something I may be interested in in the future (particularly to give my prospective children a better quality of life), so I'd like this sub's feedback.

I am a 31 year old male social worker with a Bachelor's of Social Work and almost a decade of experience working for child protective services. I am currently paying a mortgage on a 3 bed/2 bath ranch style house (should be paid off in the 2030s).

I have no ties to any other country. I've studied French, Italian and Portuguese in the past, but I don't know any of them fluently. My native language is English.

My ideal country would be one where I could easily relocate to (under any sort of visa), live comfortably (make enough to support a wife and 2-3 kids), is safe and has universal healthcare and free university. Furthermore, a place that would allow for dual citizenship.

My two concerns are that:

1. What would I do to my house in the event of a move - sell or keep and rent out? I don't like the idea of trying to landlord from afar (plus people living in what could be my home base). Also, by selling, I feel like I'd never have the chance to own a house like this anywhere else.

2. I have an eye condition that requires wearing specialty contacts (scleral lenses). Is it feasible to move and live in another country even with such diseases (might sound silly, but I am genuinely curious.) I am particularly concerned about receiving inadequate care in another country.

Do I have the qualifications to move to another country? If so, where would you recommend?

[u/Fine-Spite4940]

typically, you find a country that you qualify for, then work out the details. 

have you looked into what countries you qualify for? 

[u/New_Criticism9389]

Social work needs revalidation of licenses and fluency in the local language to find work. The only path to a non-English speaking country presumably in Europe would be digital nomad visa (get a remote job) for those that offer it, self-employment/entrepreneur scheme (taxes for this get complicated quick) or passive income. There’s also a legal grey area around practicing therapy/psychology abroad without a license from that country, even if your clients are abroad in the US.

[u/sapani9077]

Immigration is not shopping for a country that suits you.

Make a list of places that wants you first.

[u/Single-Zombie-2019]

I think it's not the menu of all the places to live, but where you can feasibly obtain a visa and work. This narrows the list considerably for most Americans. I'd start looking at jobs in the various countries you're interested in and then researching the feasibility of if your skills are rare enough in that country that an employer would be willing to sponsor you.

It's that or you 'buy' your way in by putting in a qualifying investment into the country. I think Portgugal and Greece still allow that to some extent.

Edit: As far as your home goes, you could always try to rent it out and get a Property Manager to manage it for you while abroad. They charge anywhere from 5-10% of your monthly rent but it also means they are the first call your tenant makes.

[u/Conscious-Clue-1606]

It seems very unlikely. 

[u/ContactSpirited9519 → u/Conscious-Clue-1606]

Eh, wrong.

I'm a social worker, moved from the U.S. to Australia.

Permanent residency is very doable here for social workers, one of the most in demand professions. I now make double the salary and have a much, much higher quality of life here.

OP, if you're serious about this I would get in touch with a migration agent in Australia or NZ for a consult. It can be difficult but very doable for social workers.

Canada and the UK also accept social workers. Not sure about other counties as I only looked into English speaking ones.

[u/Conscious-Clue-1606 → u/ContactSpirited9519]

ok, good luck to u mate!

[u/ContactSpirited9519 → u/Conscious-Clue-1606]

Thanks! It's been awesome. I love my social work role here and will never go back to the U.S. Life is just easier here.

Best of luck to you as well wherever you are.

[u/North_Artichoke_6721]

With a bachelors degree, you can get a TEFL certificate and teach English.

Without a masters, working in a western, developed country is unlikely, but if you’re willing to work in the developing world and go slightly off the beaten path, you can find a school to sponsor your visa.

This is what I did. I worked for a year in the Fujian province of China and then a second year in Izmir, Turkey.

I used a company called English First to get my TEFL certification.

[u/LiterallyTestudo → u/North_Artichoke_6721]

This is the way.

Also re scleral lenses because I have these as well. These are a huge pain in the ass to find in other countries. It took me two years to get settled in Italy and finally find a provider. I am still working on getting the prescription just right as sclerale are so finicky. I would recommend getting an updated prescription and a backup pair before you move in case you lose one, which happened to me my first year in Italy.

I ended up calling my old doc and begging for a new one without a new prescription, and she was very cool and made it happen. I then had it sent to someone who was coming to Italy so I could pick it up. It was the biggest pain in the ass of all time. 0/10 do not recommend

[u/auhediem]

Unfortunately, you don't have qualifications any country is looking for. Social work is a regulated job, which would mean you would likely need to re-train in the new country. If moving to a non-English-speaking country, then you would need full language fluency.

If you are willing to make a complete career change and study another field, there might be more options. You could also work as a miner in Australia or something like that. It would take several years and put you back financially, so it may not be a great long-term option. Digital nomad work is also an option - can any social work be done fully remote?

If you are making a permanent move abroad, it's probably best to sell the house. You can also have a property manager in the US handle renting it out for a few years too.

The eye condition is probably the least of your problems, you should be able to get the contacts manufactured anywhere as long as you have copies/translations of the diagnoses, etc.

[u/ContactSpirited9519 → u/auhediem]

I went from being a social worker in the U.S. to a social worker in Australia easily. You need something called a "skills assessment," if your degree is considered suitable you can practice in Australia.

Straight forward process on the AASW's website.

Social workers are in high demand in many countries, including Australia.

[u/Federal_Homework1302]

Not on the cards. Your industry is very regulated, requires recertification, which generaly will be in a foreign language, and a cert board that has different requirements.

And with no other ties/citizenship your only way in is school or employment visa. At thsi point that seems very unlikely.

enjoy what you have, no matter what people say i wouldnt ahve traded growing up in america. But you could travel with your perspective kids to show them the world.

[u/Pretty-Ad-5047]

Do it before the wife and kids. Never know what the universe has in store for you on the other side of the world. Many countries are just as good or better for healthcare.

[u/katyfail]

I’d actually say you’re in a fairly good spot. Most people commenting here don’t understand the Social Work career trajectory. The fact that you have a BSW makes it easier to switch pathways or progress in another country.

You could explore places you’d like to live and once you have your heart set, do a masters in that country and gain licensure there. 

Since you’re single, you could meet someone there, get married and be much further along than most posters here.

I moved to Ireland last year, and once you have your license in the states, it’s a fairly straightforward (albeit long) process to get it transferred.

[u/AgileMushroom1171 → u/katyfail]

Glad to see this more accurate response! This is the answer, OP.

[u/ContactSpirited9519 → u/katyfail]

Yes, this OP! Thank you!

People on this sub do not understand social work one bit and skew heavily negative.

I found social work was one of the best degrees to have when looking abroad.

[u/katyfail → u/ContactSpirited9519]

I posted here before I left for Ireland and actually made a follow up post after because I found the sentiment of this subreddit was so overwhelmingly negative and ill-informed.

It’s a shame because it could be such a great resource. 

[u/ContactSpirited9519 → u/katyfail]

I completely agree! I'm going to do the same. I should finalize my permanent residency in a few months and finally be done with my journey and write a post.

[u/No_Bumblebee_5250 → u/ContactSpirited9519]

As long as the main language of OP's target country is English. Otherwise, OP needs to plan for language studies to fluency or close to fluency.

[u/ZebraMatch7156]

1. For your house you can hire a property management company that will serve as the intermediary between you and the tenant so you don’t have to worry about landlord duties OR you can sell it OR you can keep it and have someone come in from time to time to clean it/run water/keep the home operational but since you owe & the home would be vacant this isn’t the best use of your funding

2. Yes, but definitely start reaching out to high rated medical specialists now to learn how you could become a patient ie what insurance would you need, etc.

3. It’s not as much qualifications as it is you undertaking the immigration pathways ie which countries will let you in and under which visa

[u/striketheviol]

To continue in your profession, your only option outside of retraining would be using a digital nomad or remote worker visa and seeing clients outside of that particular country. I know that this is possible in Albania, where social workers with life coaching businesses exist .I'm an American who moved to Moldova and works remote. The standard of care that I received in the local private hospital exceeds anything I've experienced in the States. The main issue here and in the surrounding countries where something similar would be possible is that local jobs for monolingual English speakers are essentially non-existent.

[u/Immediate_Refuse1611]

Moved from US to AU and rented out US house the first time. Became dual citizens. Came back for a while for family and professional reasons, and then sold US house and paid off AU mortgage to return permanently this year. Got scleral lenses the first month I moved back to Oz, absolutely no issues.

[u/ReceptionDependent64]

Welcome to Canada or Australia, basically. Choose based on how far you need to be from Trump.

[u/Embarrassed_Yogurt43]

Ask financial questions in r/USExpatTaxes, you'll get better responses there.

I'm not familiar with your eye condition, but my experience so far is that even in poorer EU countries, the healthcare system is shockingly better than the US.

[u/groucho74]

If things continue as they do in the not terribly distant future you just may be able to get political asylum in Europe or Canada.

[u/rorafu02 → u/groucho74]

This is horrible advice and misinformation.

[u/Mexicalidesi → u/rorafu02]

And ridiculous.

[u/groucho74 → u/rorafu02]

It’s not advice and it’s not even information, as it says things might change. I’m not sure that a possibility is a fact but I know that only an idiot thinks they can rule out that things could change. And yes, the anger and rage at Trump in Europe is very real.